October 2011

Halloween Eve

by Jessica on October 31, 2011

in Food, Halloween, Local Food

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Yesterday was Halloween Eve. We were scheduled to go on a mushroom hunt with Jeremy, but our poor little Clive got sick, so I stayed home with him while Neil went out in the early morning cold to hunt mushrooms for me, since he doesn’t like them.

Our local state park has an awesome cave, perfect for the Halloween motif don’t you think?

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Woooooooeeeeeewoooooo……

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While he didn’t find any mushrooms (it’s pretty much end-of-season), he did find this:

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Blegh right? It bore striking resemblance to the mountain lion poop we saw at Glacier, so Neil aptly documented it for my review. Lovely! I couldn’t tell one way or the other. Mountain lions are rare in Missouri, but they do wander in.

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He also found Hericium erinaceus, or Bearded Tooth Mushroom. I don’t know where they got that name, but weird right?

He came home around noon to Clive and I still curled up on the couch so he cracked a beer and started working on dinner.

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A Boulevard Double-Wide IPA served in the Schells mug he picked up while we were in MN visiting my grandpa.

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Some oranges for the yard bird. We’re trying to make up a whole smoked chicken every week so we have some accompaniment for our weekday lunch salads. Tuna gets old fast.

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We then started our pumpkins. Because things have been so crazy around here, we’re a little late on carving this year.

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Our poor sick boy came out to watch and nibble on pumpkin. Such a trooper.

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He was so fascinated by what we were doing and why we weren’t eating the pumpkin. He stole a few pieces. Even sick, the pup is totally food obsessed. Hopefully the pumpkin gave him a little fiber.

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Neil’s spooky pumpkin. I love the mouth!

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And mine. I was going for a wide gap-ish creepy smile. And weird eyes apparently?

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Together they make a random goofy pair. People always think we do really intricate and complicated carving since we’re designers, but we tend to keep carving simple. It stays fun and pressure-free, and being done within an hour means we can do a lot more with our day.

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We finished just in time for a little yard bird and leftover sweet potato skins. Yum! Recipes definitely coming soon. All in all a good weekend, sans a little sick pup and a cranky cat. Hopefully they feel better in time for trick or treaters tonight. First Halloween in our new house!

Do you have any Halloween traditions?

{ 2 comments }

So Grateful

by Jessica on October 26, 2011

in Family

Regular posting will resume tomorrow, but I couldn’t let it go unsaid how absolutely grateful and blessed we’ve been by your support and kind words over the past week. They have meant the absolute world during a tough time.

Although it was a sad occasion, both the visitation and funeral were truly a celebration of my Grandpa’s life. Over 500 people attended the visitation on Friday. The room was done up beautifully with flowers and mementos from his life. He had a full Catholic mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, which has been our family’s “official” church for many years. A military burial followed, with a rifle and taps salute.

I think he would have gotten a kick out of the fuss everyone made for him, especially the police escort through town. Again, thank you so much for your kind messages and support, now to figure out how to move forward into this “new” normal…

About the image: This is only image I really captured while in MN. It is the sanctuary and alter at the Cathedral. I’m in no way religious, but it remains one of the most beautiful places to me. The art was done by a descendant of mine, Anton Gág. I used to tell my Grandpa that the tabernacle is where Jesus kept the “good dishes.” He always let me believe that was true…

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Grandpa

by Jessica on October 21, 2011

in Family, Music

Just found this picture on my phone....

I randomly came across this photo on my phone this morning. It’s the last photo I have of my grandpa. He went into hospice two weeks ago. His heart was continuing to weaken and his oxygen levels were too low to be managed by the equipment nurses could bring to the farm. The lack of blood and oxygen were making him confused and unable to speak. He did better in hospice, but as we all know, you don’t enter hospice to get better. He passed away Wednesday morning.

Grandpa

I have no problem saying that I was blessed and spoiled by amazing grandparents, especially my mom’s parents. Where my brothers and I often experienced bullying, rejection or teasing in our day-to-day lives, my grandparents made us feel loved and important effortlessly. They were so proud of us, and loved us no matter what was going on in our lives. My grandfather was especially proud when we bought our house because the great American dream he worked so hard to achieve could move forward.

I’ll miss him terribly, but am comforted to see him in the faces of my family and people I’ve surrounded myself with. It’s funny how you gravitate to people who remind you of the people you love the most. He requested his favorite big band music be played for his visitation and funeral, so I thought I’d do the same for him here.

Ein Prosit!
Möge dir dein Weg leicht werden
Möge dir der Wind immer von hinten kommen
Möge dir die Sonne warm ins Gesicht scheinen
Möge dir ein sanfter Regen auf die Felder fallen
und bis wir uns wiedersehen
möge Gott dich in seiner Hand halten.

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Spicy Spaghetti Squash Mac and Cheeze

October 19, 2011
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Is it dorky that I was excited to post this recipe purely because I couldn’t wait to put “cheeze” in the title? After making Veggie-stuffed Squash Boats a few weeks ago, I knew the stringy insides of a spaghetti squash would be the perfect way to paleo-ize my favorite “desert island food” of macaroni and [...]

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Bugsy the Boston

October 17, 2011
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Clive’s little visitor this weekend was Bugsy, a three year-old rescued Boston Terrier. We noticed him on the local no-kill shelter’s Facebook page and when we inquired about him, found out several people had recommended they call us. I think that’s a credit to Clive being awesome more so than a compliment to our parenting [...]

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Sick Day

October 14, 2011
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I’m happy to say we don’t get sick around here often, but when we do, it typically knocks us both out at once. On Wednesday we went to the gym, and when I got home I was feeling…off. Felt dizzy, scratchy throat, fuzzy brain. I was done. Needless to say I haven’t blogged in two [...]

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DIY Any-Season Yarn Wreath

October 12, 2011
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I’ve been bemoaning the lack of wreath on our front door for months. I know, white people problems, but the door just felt lonely and I couldn’t find a wreath anywhere that I liked. That is until I stumbled upon this one via Jessica of OneYearinCali. Beautiful, simple and totally DIY? Yes! All you really [...]

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